Auxiliary shank and connection for passenger-car couplings.



I w. F. RICHARDS. AUXILIARY SHANK AND CONNECTION FOR PASSENGER CAR COUPLINGS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.I3,'19I3.

Patented "Mar. 6,

2 SHEETSSHEE T I.

' I wz/efl or $550 7" meg/J.

w. F. RICHARDS, AUXILIARY SHANK AND CONNECTION FOR PASSENGER CAR COUPLINGS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN- I3. I913 M2 m nw .Mfi m m m a D1 WE N I INN w @FQ S x. 4. CLIL 8 R N 1 u; 9 R l JVL/UZ K ZOY' m Km, 5%

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- T s PATENT oFFIoE- WILLARD F. RICHARDS, 0F DEPEW, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T0 GOULD COUPLER COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y. I

AUXILIARY SHANK AND CONNECTION FOR PASSENGER-CAB, ooUPnINGs, 1

Patented Mar.

Application filed January 13, 1913. Serial No. 741,614.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLARD F. RICHARDS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Depew, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Auxiliary Shanks and Connections for Passenger-Car Couplings, of which the following is a specification.

Couplers for railway passenger cars are ordinarily provided with long shanks which are connected at their inner ends to the yokes of the. draft gears by vertical pivot bolts in order to allow the necessary lateral swing of the couplers when the cars connected thereby are rounding curves. Owing.

to the present construction of passenger cars and the inaccessibility of these pivot bolts connecting the coupler shanks to the draft gears, a great deal of labor and loss of time is entailed in replacing a damaged or defective coupler.

One object of this invention is to provide car couplers having short shanks, such as used on freight cars, with an auxiliary shank, which is adapted to be connected at its inner end to the draft gear by the usual vertical pivotal connection and is secured to the coupler shank in such a way as to form a rigid extension thereof and yet enable the ready removal of the coupler without the necessity for disconnecting the auxiliary shank from the draft gear. Other objects of the invention are to adapt the coupler and the auxiliary shank to be connected by a horizontal cross-key or pin of standard size, such as now employed for connecting couplers to their draft gears, and provide means for taking up any slack or looseness of the keys in the key holes in the coupler shanks due to variations in the size of the key holes incident to casting the couplers, and thereby insure a firm, rigid connection between the coupler and the auxiliary shank; and also to provide auxiliary shanks bv means of which couplers having shanksof uniform length can be readily adapted for use on the different kinds of cars used in passenger service, such for instance as passenger cars and blind end baggage cars,

which require couplers with shanks of different lengths. In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a plan view of a car draft rigging including an auxiliary shank and connection. embodying the inventlon.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional elevation thereof, on an enlarged scale, on line 33, Fig. 1. I

Figs. 4, -5' and 6 are respectively a plan now partly in section, a side'elevation, and

a transverse section in line 66, Fig. 5-, of

a modified construction.

Figs. 7, 8 and 9 arerespectively a plan view, sectional elevation and side elevation of another modified construction.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the several figures.

A represents a car coupler, B a draftgear therefor, and-C an auxiliary shank or shank extension which connects the coupler to the draft gear.

The coupler A and the draft gear B may be of any known or desired construction suitable for use on passenger cars. The coupler shown has a short shank a, such as common to freight car couplers, which" is provided with the usual end enlargement a having bolt holes a for connection with the yoke of a draft gear, and is also providedwith a transverse hole or slot a suitable for the passage of a cross key of standard dimensions. Y I

The auxiliary shank or shank extension C may be connected at its inner end to the draft gear by any suitable pivotal connec tion which will allow the coupler the required horizontal swinging motion, for instance the auxiliary shank is attached to the yoke b of the draft gear by the usual vertical pivot bolt 1). The opposite end of the auxiliary shank is detachably connected to the shank a ofthe coupler by a cross pin or key in such a way as to prevent play in the connection and insure a firm, rigid joint. Three constructions for the purposes are shown in the drawings.

In the construction shownin Figs.13, the auxiliary shank'has an enlarged forked end with rigid side arms D which straddles the inner end of the coupler shank a. E represents the cross key or pin which extends through the horizontal transverse hole adapting a M. C. B. coupler to be secured to the auxiliary shank by the key or pin E.

The key. or pin has the usual head at one end, and a cotter pin 6 retains 1t 111 place.

The key holes a in the coupler shanks are between the shank and the shank extension 1 and an inclined face 7 in the crotch of the by, reason of the looseness of the pin or key E in the hole a a wedge F is employed between the inner end of the coupler shank m and the crotch of the auxiliary shank. This wedge F is arranged vertically between the upright end face of the coupler shank a auxiliary shank. The wedge is forced into place and retained in position by a bolt f which passes lengthwise through the wedge and has a nut f screwed on its threaded end and bearing against the bottom face of the forked end of the auxiliary shank. By tightening this nut the wedge is drawn or forced downwardly between the end face of the shank a and the inclined face f in the crotch of the auxiliary shank, thereby forcing the coupler shank outwardly in the fork of the auxiliary shank and taking upany slack between the cross key or pin E,

and the sides of the holes therefor in'the coupler shank a and in the fork of the auxiliary shank. The auxiliary shank is thus held rigid with the coupler shank, or forms a rigid extension thereof from whichthe' coupler can nevertheless be readily disconnected. The wedge can be drawn farther into its seat from time to time as may be necessary by reason of wear in the key or pin E and the holes therefor, in order to keep the connection tight and still.

In theconstruction shown in Figs. 4-6,

the auxiliary shank C is provided at its outer end with an enlarged head G having an upright end faceagainstwhich the enlarged end face of the shank a of the coupler abuts, and the cross key or pin, shown at H, passes throughthe holes a in the coupler shank and through the holes of eyebolts k, which extend longitudinally through holes in the side ears of the head G at opposite sides of the shank a of the coupler. The cross key or pin'is recessed or reduced in width between its ends at its outer or for ward side, thus forming end shoulders h adapted to overhang the ends of the holes of the eye-bolts and prevent the accidental displacement of the key or pin. The eyebolts are provided at their threaded inner ends with nuts k which bear against the side ears of the head G for drawing up the bolts. By tightening these nuts the eyebolts are drawn inwardly or rearwardly and draw the connecting key or pin against the inner side of the hole a in the coupler shank a and force the inner end of the shank a firmly against the end face of the auxiliary shank, thereby rigidly andv firmly holding the coupler on the auxiliary shank. k represents cotters in the ends of the eye-bolts for preventing the loosening of the nuts k Preferably a stud i on the end of the auxiliary shank enters the usual tail bolt hole in the end of the shank a of the coupler, thus serving to center the coupler on the auxiliary shank and assisting, in preventing any lateral movement of the coupler on the auxiliary shank. and side strain on the eyebolts.

The construction of the connection between the coupler shank and auxiliary shank shown in Figs. 7-9 is substantially like that shown in Figs. 1-3, except that the auxiliary'shank C is provided. at its outer end with a socket K in which the end of the coupler shank a, fits, the coupler shank being made without the end enlargement shown in the other constructions. The coupler shank is retained in the socket by the cross key is, and a wedge is, similar to that employed in the first construction, takes up the slack and affords a firm abutment for the coupler shank. By employing a coupler shank without the end enlargement it is not even necessary to detach the carry iron when removing the. coupler, as.

the coupler shank can be pulled endwise out of the carry iron.

As shown in Figs. 8' and 9, auxiliary shanks of difierent lengths can be used, thus enabling the shanks of couplers to be lengthened more or less, as may be necessary to adapt them for use on cars of different kinds in which the draft gears are located nearer to or farther from the end of the car. In thisway all the different kinds of cars used in a train can-be equipped with couplers having shanks of uniform length, provided with appropriate auxiliary shanks, and if necessary in case of an emergency a coupler on any car can be readily replaced by a coupler taken from the rear end of the train or other availablesource.

The auxiliary shanks used in the other constructions described can likewise be furnished in differentlengths to adapt couplers with shanks of the same length for use on different kinds of cars. i

In each of the constructions above described the coupler is connected to the auxiliary shank by a transverse connecting key or pin extending through a transverse hole of standard dimensions in the shank of the coupler, and in each construction the end of the shank of the coupler is held firmly against an abutting part carried by the auxiliary shank, and all slack is taken up between the cross connecting key or pin and the holes therefor in the connected parts, to prevent any longitudinal motion or play of the coupler'on the auxiliary =11,

I. :The" combination with a coupler having a shank; ofan auxiliary 'shank,-, a.

cross key passing through a hole said 5 couplershank for connecting said. auxiliary' shank to said coupler shank, and a ScreW aetuated pressure device which reacts against oneof said, shanks and hasan operative connection with .the other shank for. 10 'foreing saidshanks lengthwise with'regard' to'eaeh other iior taking up slack between said key. and said shanks and rigidly' holding theshanks against relative movement.

2. The combination with a ,car eou pler' 15 having a shank, of an auxiliary shank, a

k icrosskey passing throiigh registering holes n said: s nk r eo n t -sa seu i r. 'iarys ank to saideouphnshank, axwedge'.

movable in a transverse hole: in one of Bani-11f]; shanks and engaging said'other shank, and;

. means for moving saidfiwedge endwise' for forcingsaid. shankslengthwise with regard to each other to take up slack between said cross key and said shanks." 

